Last Call for Entries for Adler, ComEd 'Shoot for the Moon' Essay Contest

4th Annual Contest Sends One Winning Student and One Winning Teacher to Space Camp

CHICAGO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The countdown is underway for the 4th annual Shoot for the Moon contest, sponsored by ComEd and the Adler Planetarium. The contest asks students and teachers to write compelling essays about overcoming an obstacle in their lives. One high school student and one teacher will be awarded a grand prize trip to Space Camp in Alabama. The deadline for entries is January 31, 2010.

This year's topic was chosen to honor retired astronaut Captain James A. Lovell, Jr., commander of the Apollo 13 mission and the first person to journey twice to the moon. During the missions, Lovell overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles on board Apollo 13 to return the spacecraft and its crew safely home.

ComEd is a sponsor of the Adler's permanent exhibition, Shoot for the Moon, which highlights the exciting stories of space exploration and American's bold plans to return to the moon. The exhibition features the Gemini 12 spacecraft and Lovell Collection of personal space artifacts. As an extension of the sponsorship, ComEd is encouraging high school students and teachers throughout its service territory to draft a 200-word essay about overcoming an obstacle in their lives.

Participating students and teachers will have the opportunity to win one of three exciting prizes including:

• Grand Prize: Separate, all-expenses paid trip to Space Camp at the U.S. Rock and Space Center in Alabama will be awarded to one student and one teacher.
• Runner-Up Prizes: One-year family membership to the Adler Planetarium will be awarded to two students and two teachers.

Teacher and student entries are separate; winning teacher and student do not have to come from the same school. The winning teacher does not have to be the teacher of the winning student.

Students and teachers can sign up for the contest by visiting www.ComEd.com/moon. Entries must be submitted by January 31, 2010. The winners will be announced April 1, 2010.

Captain Lovell will serve on the panel of essay judges, along with Frank Clark, chairman and CEO of ComEd; Rep. Fred Crespo, vice chair of the Illinois House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee; Lula Ford, commissioner with the Illinois Commerce Commission; Paul Knappenberger, president of the Adler Planetarium; Tamara O'Shaughnessy, editor of Chicago Parent magazine; Phil Thompson, editor of The Mash; and LeAnn Trotter, reporter at NBC-5.

Employees, officers, and directors (and their immediate family members, and members of the same households, whether related or not) of ComEd and its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies are not eligible to participate.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.2 million customers and more than $15 billion in annual revenues. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.7 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

The Adler Planetarium -- America's First Planetarium -- was founded in 1930 by Chicago business leader Max Adler. The museum has announced a new vision to be the world's leading space science center. The museum will inspire the next generation of explorers by sharing the stories of human space exploration and America's space heroes. The Adler is a recognized leader in science education, with a focus on inspiring young people, particularly women and minorities, to pursue careers in science.

SOURCE Adler Planetarium